Here we are about midway through January and while you may have fallen off the wagon on your resolution to go toxin-free, it doesn't mean that you can't pick up and start again. 

Many people, myself included, often like to get organized and declutter around the New Year. I connected with Natalie Mel of Her Holistic Space and thought that it would be the perfect addition to the Detox Your Life series and get us all thinking about getting decluttered and organized. What I really loved about this interview with Natalie was how much we really connected on health and how important our environment is. I love how Natalie incorporates health and removing toxins and choosing healthy food on top of organizing for her clients.

The Importance of Creating a Holistic Space - Decluttering and Organizing While Creating a Healthy Home with Natalie Mel of Her Holistic Space 

Megan: So we connected through our common interest of toxin-free living, organizing, really living as healthy of a life as you can. I'm so excited to hear from you today. Tell me a little bit more about what you do and how you got started?

Natalie: How I started was a real winding road so I'm going to try to thread this together. But I guess the catalyst was when I was about eight years old I had a younger sister that passed away and the whole family dynamic changed. I had an older sister, my parents all living together and there was so much grief and pain in the home.I felt really disconnected from everybody through that and the one place I felt safe was my bedroom. That was the one place I could control and feel like no matter what I was okay there. I was a messy kid like a lot of kids are but as I got a little older, a switch flipped and I became almost a neat freak. Everything had to have a place.I wasn't following trends or anything like that; there was no Marie Kondo to watch. I was kind of going with what felt good and taking care of my space. I could feel that internally. 

Fast forward to my early 30s. I'm married to my best friend, we have two kids. I call it my laundry moment. I'm sitting there one evening folding laundry and I looked at my husband and I'm like, is this all there is? I wasn't depressed. But there was no purpose. I love taking care of my family and doing the laundry. It wasn't that. It just felt like there was no drive behind it. 

I remember the next morning, I hopped on YouTube. I'm a very curious person. I watched videos on whatever intrigued me, whatever I was curious about. The pattern that came up was health and wellness. I kept watching video after video and reading articles and learning and researching. I discovered there was a dark side to the food industry and to all these other companies. It's like that saying goes, the truth will set you free, but first, it will piss you off.  I was very angry when I learned all these things. Because it's not just us they’re marketing to, but also to our kids. So I don't know if the mama bear came out, but I said I had to do something. I decluttered my house but not physically, I was already kind of organized. Going through my pantries pulling out the toxins and making swaps that I could do with my limited knowledge at the time. 

So then I felt I had a pretty good hold on my home and my kids. Being the organizer that I am, I was watching an organizing show one day and I'm not looking at how they're organizing, I'm looking at what they're organizing: processed food, the chemical cleaning products. I remember thinking these exact words, it's like putting lipstick on a pig. What's the point of organizing things that are going to harm you? That's when I realized this problem is much bigger than just me and my family. There's a lack of information. We're purposely kept in the dark about certain things. So I said, this has to change, this industry needs to be disrupted and we need to get the word out there. So that's what drove me to start this podcast and the business of professional organizing, but blended with holistic health so that we could really transform our spaces because it really starts with us.

Megan: That is so genius. When I got my Master's in public health, I learned about how food was marketed to us. Basically, the marketing was tricking us. For example, Fruit Loops. There's no fruit in Fruit Loops. And that's one thing that people usually get. But I'd never learned about the toxic chemicals in our cleaning products. That's kind of why I started this because I was also really irritated and annoyed that I had been tricked for so many years and I wanted to get that message out. When I started my business, I did start working one on one with clients and helping them detox their homes, just like you do, but I just focused on the toxins

Can you share a little bit more about epigenetics and how you include that in your work?

Natalie: We tend to think that a lot of the diseases that we get, we say, Oh, it was genetic, I got it from my parents. But really, it's not. They say less than 5% or even less than 1% of all diseases are hereditary. The reason why we're getting the same diseases as our parents is because we eat the same, we act the same, we move or lack thereof the same, and that's why these diseases are repeating themselves. It's the influence of the environment on your genetic expression. It's kind of like a light switch. If you can take twins, identical twins with the exact same genome and give them two different lifestyles, one could be the epitome of health, and the other one can be riddled with disease because of lifestyle. In our homes, that's where we have the greatest influence. There are environmental factors that we can't control when we're out and about or at work, but in our homes where we spend the most time, that's where we can have the biggest impact on our health. So that's basically epigenetics. Can we keep that light switch off? Turn on the good and keep the bad off?

Megan: Thank you for explaining that so well. As a woman, you're probably going to get a mammogram or you already have had one, and the first question they ask you is, do you have a family history of breast cancer? But we know that less than 10% of cancer is genetic? So it's really interesting that they asked that question, but they don't ask you about all the other things that are in your daily life that are connected to cancer. Like what you're eating, what products you're using, when your home was built, and what is in the environment of your home or your workplace. 

So could you tell me about what you do with your clients? How do you bring up the holistic part of the organizing?

Natalie: They have to be ready for me to ask some hard questions. Because if you look at traditional organizing, it's about making the space pretty and uncluttered and it's not that that's bad. But you gotta look at why the person is coming to see you in the first place. I use the bedroom, for an example. 

Say someone comes in and tells you “I’m not sleeping well. My bedroom is a mess. It's completely cluttered. And I need some help.”  Any other organizer may come in, and they'll declutter the space and then she's still not better. But if you look at the underlying, maybe it's because she's got a TV in there and she's watching the news before she falls asleep. Maybe she's in there with a laptop, and she's working in bed so her brain can't make the association that it's time to sleep. Maybe there's a nightlight in the hallway, or a street lamp that's coming in, and there's artificial light disrupting her circadian rhythm. There's so many different things, that would be a missed opportunity. The clutter or the disorganization part, it can be a symptom, but it's not going to solve the problem, you have to go to the root cause. 

Decluttering is not just stuff, it's your habits, its beliefs. It's so much more. So it is a very individualized approach because you want to work with their pain points, because at the end of the day, they have to make their choice, but at least it'll be an informed choice as opposed to them not knowing.

Megan: I love the way that you talked about how somebody comes to you for organizing for a specific purpose and just to get down to the root cause is so important. You can watch something like The Home Edit, and they're doing their all their cutesy, fancy organizing, but are they really solving the problem? Honestly, you're the first person that I've ever heard of that is incorporating this holistic lifestyle with organizing, and I think it's absolutely genius. I know that my listeners are going to come running to you to learn more. So is there something else that you want to share?

Natalie:  You know, the expression if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. I say you teach a mom to fish and you'll feed generations. 

We've been taught, brainwashed, whatever word you want to use, to outsource. That we are not the experts on our bodies, we are not the experts on our children, that everything has to be outsourced. Education, health, everything. We have all that inside of us. That's why I called the podcast Her Holistic Space. Her space. It's not your neighbors, it's not the doctors, it's not the lawyers. It's your space. That is the first step, you're claiming your space, you're taking it back, and you establish yourself as a gatekeeper to your home. That's how I position myself. There are certain things that I will not let into my home, whether it's a source of entertainment, a TV show, or a book. 

I would tell all moms out there that you don't need a PhD to know when something is not good for you and it is good for you to question a doctor, do not let that white coat make it hard to articulate. We've given away so much power, you can take it back, and you don't need any permission from anybody to do that. That's the starting off point. Whether it's just starting to ask questions, doing your own research, and talking to people, but know that you do have that innate sense within you.

Megan:  I couldn't agree with you more. And I couldn't agree with that phrase. If you teach a mom to fish, she'll feed generations. 

We are the buyers for our family. We do have the opportunity to impact our entire family's health and by teaching this to our children, we are going to impact our grandchildren's lives too.

I just celebrated my 100th episode. I did it by really not celebrating myself for having a podcast, I'm celebrating my listeners, because they're the ones that are doing the work. They're listening, they are learning, they are implementing what they're learning. 

Anyone who's listening to this podcast, you are doing the work, you're learning, you're opening your mind, you're changing, and you are going to impact your family for generations. So I just had to say that because I think it's so important to give the listeners a pat on the back

Thank you so much, Natalie, what a great conversation. Can you tell my listeners how to find you and how to learn more about you?

Natalie: I was once that listener on the other side, listening to the podcast, and binging and learning, I didn't know anything, but I just went for that lowest hanging fruit and I made one change, and then one more chance. And it just had this snowball effect. And now, the fact that I'm here talking to you and sharing with you never underestimate what you can do. So mamas listening out there, just never underestimate yourself. If anyone wants to connect, they can just go to my website www.herholisticspace.com

Megan: I have always been one of those people that is really scared of change. And so the idea of not having a 40 hour, a week workweek and having a typical job was so out of my possibilities. I was starting on my entrepreneurial journey and I was like, somebody should do a podcast about this. And I didn't even think that it could be me. But look at where we are now. Such a great interview. Thank you so much Natalie. 

One more thing before you go. Please tell me. Did you get value in this episode? I know others will too. So head on over to iTunes, subscribe, and leave a review so that we can share this message with more people. You too can have an incredible impact on the women in your life. Just share what you learn today. Take a quick screenshot, post it to your stories and make sure to tag me @themeganmikkelsen. Come on. Let's start making this planet happier and healthier. One step at a time.